Disney Stops Making Star Wars Games

Licensing model to be pursued instead

Disney (NYSE:DIS) has shut down video game studio LucasArts and laid off 200 people.

The video game developer — which Disney acquired along with the rest of George Lucas’ empire — was informed of the decision on Wednesday, the Wall Street Journal reports.

As a part of the move, Disney will no longer be developing any Star Wars-themed video games. Instead, it will pursue a business model that licenses out the properties for development by other studios. The two Star Wars games in development — Star Wars: 1313 and Star Wars:First Assault — were both shelved and will not be released unless another studio steps up to purchase the development rights.

Closing the development studio is part of a long-term plan for Disney to deal with flagging video game sales. Disney has closed several of its game producers recently and concentrated its efforts in developing Disney Infinity, a project that will combine many Disney characters into one game.

Founded in 1982, LucasArts was considered a top studio for a time. It was responsible for making the hit games Monkey Island and Maniac Mansion.